The Paris-to-Dakar rally is being run right now and, in the car division, Mitsubishi Pajeros are duking it out with Volkswagen Touaregs on a daily basis. As of the 10th stage of the rally, Team Repsol, with drivers Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret, had taken the overall lead with their specially modified Mitsubishi Pajero Evo. The car uses its original MIVEC six-cylinder engine, with extensive modification, and a six-speed sequential gearbox. The dashboard holds a ruggedized navigation system with special trip computers to help the driving team stay on course and on time. Among the 110 entrants in the car division, the Mitsubishi Pajero is a popular choice, having secured six previous Dakar wins. But Volkswagen is proving itself in the rally, with 4 teams driving Touaregs currently in the top 12. The individual 10th stage was won by a team in a BMW X3.

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Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET. Prior to the Car Tech beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine. He's also the author of "Vaporware," a novel that's available as a Nook e-book.
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